25 x 3D Prints to Mario Kart Glory!

It’s taken some time but I now have all the pieces for the Mario Kart Trophy 3D printed or cut from timber (follow the full story here). Bit of a marathon with 25 separate pieces!

You’ll notice the prints are in 2 different colours (ignoring the leaf which has been spray painted with a primer) but this is just to use up the material I had available – it’s all going to be painted in the coming days in a silver or gold. Then it’s just a matter of assembling with screws and glue.

I’ve considered using acetone to smooth off all the surfaces and remove the visible layers typical of 3D printed parts, however I personally don’t mind the layered look – it celebrates the process that was used to make it, like part-lines or ejector marks on an injection moulded part. The only piece I’m going to finish by hand is the leaf since I had to use acetone to clean up some messy surfaces (see the results here), and there is now a mix of layered and polished surfaces which is a bit ugly.